2020 Northeast Asia Butadiene Trade Flow Interpretation
Introduction: In recent two years, the global butadiene capacity continued to ramp up. Therein, newly added butadiene capacity was mainly concentrated in Northeast Asia, especially in China. Northeast Asia, as a net import region of butadiene, will have less demand for imported resources, in the wake of hiking self-sufficiency rate in the later period. However, in 2020, as limited newly added butadiene capacity was released, Northeast Asia witnessed relatively brisk trading activities, which was still the global butadiene import concentration.
Source: GACC
From 2016 to 2020, China’s butadiene import volume first rallied, then slid and finally hiked. The annual import volume of butadiene was around 300kt. In 2020, China’s butadiene import volume hit a historical high, and the total import volume reached 455kt. In the past few years, with the constant release of China’s newly added butadiene capacity, the import volume of butadiene in China didn’t see obvious changes amid steady demand. In 2020, the upsurge in the import volume of butadiene was mainly affected by the global public health event. Deep-sea butadiene cargoes were notably replenished to the Asian butadiene market, resulting in the upsurge in butadiene import volume.
